Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [14]
Kelsey frowned. “I wasn’t a ten-year-old anymore, Mitch.”
“I’m sorry,” he admitted, knowing he’d offended her. “I’m sure you didn’t laugh at him.”
She shook her head. “I should say not. The poor guy ended up with a dislocated shoulder. I felt so bad I went out with him several times, and we had absolutely nothing in common.”
“Poor thing,” he murmured, “going from plain-Jane to queen of the prom overnight, and forced to go on several dates with the captain of the college football team.”
“Well,” she laughed, “I guess it wasn’t so bad at that.”
Mitch looked around her apartment as they entered. He hadn’t seen it since she had moved in and had to admit it looked great. Kelsey’s talent with plants was evidenced by the amount of greenery, and pictures of her family were everywhere. He paused to look at the latest photos of her parents, trying to remember how long it had been since he’d seen them.
A wicker patio set stood in a sunny corner by the rear bay window, and he walked around it to glance outside. “No wonder you work in the yard so much. You have the best view in the house.”
Kelsey moved next to him. “You have to admit, I did a good job. Aren’t you glad I took the initiative?”
“You always do. Jump first, look later,” he said steadily.
“Like you used to.” She dared him to deny it. He didn’t try.
They fell silent and Kelsey suddenly realized just how close together they’d been standing. She shivered a little as his arm brushed her shoulder. She could feel his breath on her hair, and she finally looked up into his sculpted face. He wasn’t looking out the window anymore. Instead he stared at her intently.
A thick, dark lock of hair hung down on Mitch’s forehead. Unable to resist, Kelsey reached up to brush it with the back of her hand. She couldn’t seem to pull her fingers away. The moment stretched as Kelsey stared into his blue eyes. He had dark, sooty lashes that were too long for a man, and his lids lowered slightly as his gaze dropped to study her lips. She sensed he was thinking of kissing her. Kelsey wanted him to—at that moment, she was dying for him to—but he didn’t.
Mitch drew in a ragged breath. Expectation filled the air, fueled by the unexpected touch of Kelsey’s soft hand. A rush of excitement surged in his chest, until he remembered whose soft, feminine, sweet-smelling body he was reacting to. He stepped back and walked to the door.
“Mitch?”
He stopped with his hand on the knob but didn’t turn around.
“Thank you for your help,” she said softly.
“You’re welcome, Kelsey.”
3
A FEW HOURS LATER, Mitch still wondered how he could possibly even have contemplated kissing Kelsey. What if he had given in to his impulse and done it? Considering how much he’d been thinking about her, and how his body responded every time she was in the same room, he imagined they’d have spent the entire afternoon in bed.
Mitch indulged himself, imagining for a few seconds the intense pleasure they could give each other. Then he forced the mental pictures away. Because that was never going to happen.
It wasn’t just that she was Nate’s sister. And it wasn’t just that she’d terrorized him for several years. Mitch had known since he was seventeen that Kelsey delighted in tormenting him because she had a crush on him. But he’d never let on that he knew. She’d basically been a cute kid, in spite of her brattiness, and he’d never have humiliated her or denigrated her feelings. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one in the family who’d noticed how little Kelsey felt.
Mitch would never forget the conversation he overheard one evening many years before in the Logans’ house. He’d come home early from basketball practice. Marge and Ralph had been sitting with Aunt Betsy, Marge’s older sister, who was the nosiest, nastiest busybody he’d ever known. None of the adults in the kitchen had heard him come in the front door.
Mitch could still hear every word of that long-ago conversation.
“REALLY, MARGE,” Betsy said, “I think it’s shameful that you’re putting your daughter at risk